Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World FEDERATION NEWS
Serving our community for over 40 years! Published by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee www.jfedsrq.org
June 2013 - Sivan/Tammuz 5773 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 11A Community Focus 18A Jewish Interest 22A Commentary 24A Focus on Youth 27A Life Cycle 1B Jewish Happenings 7B Israel & the Jewish World 11B Recent Events
Volume 43, Number 6
Federation focuses on the future
By Nancy Swart and Howard Tevlowitz
D
ue to the large number of programs our Federation is or has been involved with of late, we have had many conversations regarding our ever changing vision for the Jewish Federation and our role in the Jewish community.
4A Havdalah Drum Circle brings community together
Nancy Swart, Federation President
15A Fay Watkins celebrates birthday # 108
26A
The B’nai Mitzvah Revolution
11B Recent event photos from the area’s temples, schools and organizations A publication of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Klingenstein Jewish Center, 580 McIntosh Rd., Sarasota, FL 34232 Annual voluntary subscription: $25
Howard Tevlowitz, Federation Executive Director
1. The key challenge moving forward is engaging Jews in Jewish life. If we don’t care about, or invest in, those next gens (define next gen for yourself), then what’s the point? The simple fact is that the vast majority of Jews in our community are not involved in organized Jewish community life – but they are not necessarily alienated from the Jewish community. They don’t belong to synagogues; they don’t belong to membership organizations; and they are not the Jewish community fundraising event attendees. But they are here…here as consumers of Jewish goods and services. a. A successful community engagement approach/mechanism is critical to achieving our mission – building a stronger, more vibrant Jewish future. Without engaged Jews, what kind of Jewish community will we have? How will we continue to support Israel – financially, politically, with our children? Who will remember the Six Million? Who will care for those Jews who can’t care for themselves? Which means we need to help fashion multiple entry points for Jewish life, and mechanisms to cross-promote opportunities for further involvement. 2. Our Federation is in the best position to identify needs and gaps in Jewish life in our community, and to determine what may be the best prescriptions or solutions for having meaningful, strategic impact. Other Jewish organizations/institutions are single focused – on their institution or organization. One of our key Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID MANASOTA FL PERMIT 167
value propositions is strategic planning/looking at community needs, and yes…we can bring leverage to the table. Thus the new Engagement Ambassador position and our continuing investment in teens, pre-teens, families through the STEP (Shapiro Teen Engagement Pathways) Initiative; Israel advocacy and awareness/Interfaith engagement through the Heller IAI; Holocaust awareness; and partnering with organizations that provide services where Jews are. 3. Given 1 and 2 above, we need to continue to be more laser-focused on what philanthropic investments will have the kind of impact our members of the Jewish community can benefit from. That is one reason we give grants to programs, rather than just to organizations. This means Federation will continue to operate as a proactive catalyst, making grants and partnerships, and not just a passive allocator of funds. We have been engaged in this process for 10 years now – and you can see an example of the results in the amazing array of programs being offered in our community. 4. Lastly, we need to offer people an opportunity to support what they care most about, and to focus on return on philanthropic investment. Individuals give in different ways today – it’s that simple. We are in the best position to connect peoples’ passions – and resources – as to what the needs are of the Jewish community, by offering a vision and a goal/picture of what could be if we had the necessary resources. This also entails a continuing look at how we do development. There you have it – the vision for The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. Sounds simple, no? The devil is in the details. This is not the traditional Federation approach. The good news is that there has been a method to our madness over the years – as we have been working through these changes. Thankfully, the response among many members of our Jewish community has been very positive. Our continuing challenge, as we have reshaped the professional structure and operations of the Federation, is to continue to build a similarly effective volunteer structure to help augment and extend our impact in the community. We’ll be looking for your help with that. For more information, contact Howard Tevlowitz at 941.343.2110 or htevlowitz@jfedsrq.org.